Tufted fabrics and methods of making same



Jan. '23, 1962 w. R. KEEN TUFTED FABRICS AND METHODS OF MAKING SAMEFiled March 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l I I/i2 5 9 B I ma: TING CHAMBERTUFT/NG MACH/NE BACK/N6 MATERIAL INVENTOR. Willa/71?. flfe lz BYATTORNEYS.

Jan. 23, 1962 w. R. KEEN 3,017,847

TUF'TED FABRICS AND METHODS OF MAKING SAME Filed March 13, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. .Wl [1mm 15. A2617,

A TTORNEYS.

United Stes This invention relates to a tufted pile fabric and a methodof making such a fabric which will produce a greater pile density thanhas heretofore been possible.

The known methods of forming a tufted pile fabric normally comprisetufting the pile yarn woven backing by means of tufting needles. Thepile density in such fabrics is normally limited by the weight of theyarn and the number of needles per inch which can be used. Due to thelimitation of the number of needles per inch, a tufted pile fabricemploying a fine pile yarn has a poor pile density and shows the backingmaterial through the pile. Even with heavier yarns which tend to spreadto cover the backing, the pile density is limited by the tufting meansand the pile has a relatively soft hand.

It is an object of this invention to provide a tufted pile fabric havinga high pile density.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a tufted pile fabrichaving a fine pile yarn in which the pile yarn closes on the backingmaterial.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method of tuftingpile fabrics in which the pile density is not limited by the fineness ofthe pile yarn or by the number of tufting needles per inch.

The above objects are achieved by tufting the pile yarn in the backingmaterial while the width-wise ends in the backing are in an expandedcondition so that the widthwise spacing of the openings in the backingmaterial is larger during the tufting operation than when the finishedfabric is removed from the tufting machine. This may be accomplished bythe method of the invention as shown in the drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the method of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a fabric being tufted inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the fabric of FIG. 2 after a shrinkingtreatment;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the line IV--IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line VV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation showing another embodiment of the method ofthe invention; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 6.

In accordance with the invention, the backing material may be knitted orwoven or in any other known form for tufting purposes having only theessential requirement that the widthwise ends are expandable orcontractible.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. l-5. The backingmaterial 20 is woven with normal warp yarns 22 of jute, cotton, viscoseor the like, with a filling 21 of highly shrinkable yarns or filamentssuch as polyethylene, oriented polymerized vinyl chloride with vinylacetate, vinylidene chloride with vinyl chloride, or an orientedpolyester of terephthalic acid with ethylene glycol. It is to beunderstood, of course, that the woven backing 20 is only by way of anexample, and other forms of backing material may be used. The backing 20is tufted with a pile-forming yarn 19 which may be of any atent icesuitable textile yarn material tufted by known methods. The tuftedfabric is shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The shrinkable ends 21 are placedwidth-wise as the fabric passes through the tufting machine 23. When thefabric has been tufted, the material is subjected to whatever treatmentis necessary to produce the desired amount of shrinkage in thewidth-wise ends such as wet or dry hot treatment schematicallyillustrated at 24 in FIG. 1. The resulting tufted pile fabric isillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Thebacking material 10 is a knitted fabric of cotton or other suitableyarns which have been knitted on a circular knitting machine. The fabric10 is shown in a stretched condition and is held in place in thestretched condition by means of chains 12 and 13, which hold the edgesof the fabric out to the desired width and advance it at the same speedas the tufting machine 11. The chains 12 and 13 are spaced outside theneedles 14 of the machine 11. Additional chains 15 and 16 are providedto insure an even stretch in the fabric 10 across its entire width. Theintermediate chains 15 and 16 are continuously removed as the fabricapproaches the needles 14. After the fabric 10 is tufted with pile yarn17 and passes the tufting needles 14-, the outside chains 12 and 13 areremoved permitting the fabric 10 to relax to its normal width whereuponthe backing is; coated with suitable coating material such as latex orresins to retain width-wise dimensional stability of the fabric 10. Itwill be apparent that the resultant tufted fabric will have a greaterpile density than would be possible if it were tufted in the relaxedcondition.

A great number of variations are possible in the fabrics produced by theinvention. Thus, in the woven backing material of FIG. 2 employingwidth-wise shrinkable ends, maximum shrinkage may be obtained by spacingthe nonshrinkable warp yarns so that when the filling is shrunk, theywill lie side by side without overriding one another. By reducing thespacing of the warp yarns prior to and during tufting, the degree ofshrinkage will be lessened and the pile will not be so dense.

By means of the invention, it is possible to produce tufted pile fabricsof greater pile density than is possible with any known methods. Eventhe heaviest pile density now possible with present machines using thegreatest possible number of needles per inch can be improved beyond thecapacity of the machine by tufting while the width.- wise ends of thebacking material are in an expanded condition as compared to theircondition in the finished fabric. Conversely, the invention reduces thenumber of needles presently required to produce a tufted pile fabric ofa given pile density. It has been found that by employing the method ofthe invention, it is possible to produce up to 50%-75% or even moretufting in a given width of finished fabric.

Many variations within the scope of the invention may be employedwithout departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the followingclaim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A method of forming a tufted pile fabric comprising forming a backingmaterial having highly shrinkable yarns extending in one direction,continuously needle tufting pile yarns in said backing and continuouslysubjecting said tufted backing material to shrinking treatment to shrinksaid shrinkable yarns and to reduce the dimension of said fabric in thedirection of said shrinkable yarns so as to bring said tufts closertogether.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Bradshaw Apr. 15, 1941 Brown Nov. 6, 1945Miller Nov. 1, 1949 Kinzinger et a1. Apr. 12, 1955 Hopkins Dec. 13, 1955Ebersold Mar. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS France Oct. 11, 1945

